The legal fees to defend yourself in a lawsuit can be financially crippling regardless of whether you’re ultimately found responsible or not. Getting an umbrella liability policy a way to protect yourself.

Smaller companies face increasing computer liability risks. Almost every business uses technology in some way, and your business can be held liable if certain types of information are compromised. Insurance experts regard cyber risks to be greater than risks related to fraud or theft. Your business can take a variety of steps to protect itself and limit exposure including obtaining cyber liability insurance.

Parties and social gatherings are often a big part of the holiday season, but hosts who serve alcohol should take steps to limit their liquor liability and make sure they have the proper insurance.

Do you sponsor corporate functions, holiday parties, meetings or other social events where alcoholic beverages are served? Do you rent to tenants who sell or serve alcohol? If so, you need to be aware of liquor liability exposures and the extent of coverage provided by your insurance for claims related to selling, serving or furnishing alcoholic beverages.

Anyone hosting a Halloween party should take steps to limit their liquor liability and make sure they have the proper insurance. Social host liability laws vary widely from state to state. Some states do not impose any liability on social hosts. Others limit liability to injuries that occur on the host’s premises. Some extend the host’s liability if the person who was provided the alcohol is killed or injured, or kills or injures another person. Many states have laws that pertain specifically to furnishing alcohol to minors. 

Social networking has taken the world by storm. Facebook®, Twitter®, Instagram®, Snapchat®, blogs, and other online chatter continue to grow. And, it’s led to an increase in lawsuits based on defamatory or libelous statements.

A recently published white paper examines the current exposure to cyberrisk and how insurers are responding. Interest in cyber insurance and risk continues to grow beyond expectations in 2016 in part due to high profile data breaches, but also due to awareness of the almost endless range of exposures businesses face. Attacks and breaches have grown in frequency, and loss costs are on the rise.

The homeowners policy liability section covers only "bodily injury" and "property damage." Thus, any type of non-bodily injury such as personal injury is excluded without the attachment of a personal injury endorsement. 

Dog bites (and other dog-related injuries) accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claim dollars paid out in 2015, costing in excess of $570 million, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).